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National Industrial Relations and Local Bargaining Power in the US and German Telecommunications Industries

King's College London, UK, virginia.doellgast{at}kcl.ac.uk

This article compares the process and outcomes of collective negotiations over the outsourcing of call centre jobs in US and German telecommunications firms. In the USA, the Communication Workers of America relied on coalitions with politicians and other organizations to lead successful public campaigns; while in Germany, ver.di used coordinated bargaining with works councils to leverage their strong codetermination rights. Variation in access to resources between countries helps explain differences in the unions' ability to negotiate strong collective agreements on outsourcing and to influence restructuring decisions.

Key Words: call centres • Germany • outsourcing • telecommunications • trade unions • USA • works councils

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European Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 14, No. 3, 265-287 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0959680108094135


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Doellgast, V. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?